Essie Cashmere Bathrobe

Cashmere Bathrobe was released by Essie as part of the For the Twill of It collection for fall 2013. I was going through my stash not long ago collecting polishes to donate and came across this in one of my older swatching chutes. The minute I saw it, I knew I'd be wanting to wear it soon, so it was saved from the donation box and shuttled into a new swatching chute with other similar rediscoveries. I think I got this last winter -- it may even have been the winter before, but I remember having an ephiphanic moment about the chic glamour of grey polishes and hunting it down on ebay immediately thereafter. Well the moment passed but the thought stuck, I do think that grey is a glamorous, chic nail color and I'm really happy to be reintroduced to this particular polish.

Essie describes Cashmere Bathrobe as a "cuddly soft, true flannel gray," which to me is descriptive of the name of the polish but not the polish itself, which is actually not at all what I think of as a flannel grey -- it's darker, flintier, more edgy. I read a review where it was described as a "wet cement," and that's not far from the mark. It's a bit darker than that, kind of like a dark slate, achromatic and somewhat inscrutable. Or it would be, were it not for the sprinkling of tiny, ultrafine silver flake shimmers it carries. Not an inundation, just the handful of subtle flecky goodness that Essie knows how to do so well, just enough to make it special. 

Application was wonderful. Great formula, Essie! The consistency of Cashmere Bathrobe is quite fluid but not runny, and luxuriously creamy with a buttery glide over the nail and excellent self-leveling properties. It goes on best in thin to medium coats with a generous bead of polish on the brush. Pigmentation is very good, with completely even opaque coverage in two coats. Cleanup is easy and straightforward with a little bit of pigment travel that's not unexpected with a dark polish and no trace of staining. Cashmere Bathrobe dries naturally in very good time to a slick, glossy finish. Topcoat accentuates the presence of the shimmers.

Photos show two coats of Cashmere Bathrobe over Pretty Serious Rock On treatment and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat with another disappointingly bubbly topcoat of Seche Vite. I'm going to add some Restore to that Vite before my next manicure, then we'll see.

Essie Cashmere Bathrobe

Essie Cashmere Bathrobe

Essie Cashmere Bathrobe

Essie Cashmere Bathrobe

Essie Cashmere Bathrobe

Essie Cashmere Bathrobe

Essie Cashmere Bathrobe

Essie Cashmere Bathrobe

Essie Cashmere Bathrobe

Essie Cashmere Bathrobe

Essie Cashmere Bathrobe

Essie Cashmere Bathrobe

Essie Cashmere Bathrobe

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I worked as a prep cook for about six months. Like the other cooks at this place, I carried a kit of my own knives to work along with a silicon carbide sharpening stone and lubricating oil. Cashmere Bathrobe's grey reminds me very much of the color of that oiled sharpening stone. It's slatey but also steely, and has an industrial vibe. The tiny silvery shimmers are a sweet contrasting touch to the impervious quality of the grey. Granted, the effect is subtle, but that just makes it all the more ingenious!

I love this deep glossy grey with its sprinkling of silvery flecks! I took it down to show Fuzzy, who promptly called it blue. I'm like, no, I think it's achromatic. She goes, well hold it next to your pants (which were very dark blue). So I did and sure enough, it looked blue! Huh, I thought. I'm going to have to rewrite my description of this polish. So I go back upstairs to my lightbox bathroom and look at it next to my pants in bright natural light. Not blue! Definitely grey! Trickster polish. I also initially thought that the silver shimmers were actually light blue, but I think that they were reflecting the blue of the sky through my skylight.

In any case, a deeply cool polish. And chic!

love,
Liz